Tetairoa McMillan rightfully named to NFL's All-Rookie team through 2 weeks

A lot of folks wanted the Carolina Panthers to go defense-first with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Going in pretty much every analyst was predicting that's exactly what they would do. However, the Panthers threw an unexpected curveball and instead picked the top-ranked pure wide receiver in the draft.

It's only been two games, but so far Tetairoa McMillan is proving that they made the right choice. McMillan is not just clearly the best receiver on the Panthers' roster, he's also been the most-productive rookie receiver in the entire league. His 168 receiving yards ranks 8th in the NFL heading into Week 3.

McMillan's route-running is smooth, his hands are soft and he's much more dangerous after the catch than we were led to believe. After two games, McMillan has been named to Pro Football Network's NFL All-Rookie team as he should be,

PFN on Tetairoa McMillan

"Tetairoa McMillan continues to be one of the most efficient rookie receivers in the league. He posted 10.0 yards per target, tying Puka Nacua and ranking 24 out of 87 qualifiers. More impressively, he’s accounted for 35% of the Carolina Panthers' total receiving yards, the tenth-highest share among all NFL wideouts."

McMillan's next challenge will of course be finding the end zone. That depends on much more than just the prowess of McMillan, though. This was a sore point for Carolina's offense last season and through two games they've only converted on 60% of their red zone trips, which ranks 15th.

The trouble he's likely to run into is that McMillan is really the team's only good red zone target. Adam Thielen is back in Minnesota, Jalen Coker is on IR, Xavier Legette is looking like a total bust, and Ja'Tavion Sanders seems incapable of trying to secure a catch without falling down.

That means smart teams are going to double McMillan every time the Panthers get within scoring range, and force somebody else to beat them. This past week Hunter Renfrow was able to do so, notching two clutch touchdowns against Arizona.

As great as Renfrow's comeback story is, the Panthers shouldn't have to be relying on him to perform fourth quarter heroics. Somebody else has to step up as a weapon for Bryce Young, both in the red zone and everywhere else on the field.

If and when that happens, we'll start to really see McMillan's potential shine.

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